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TRP: Larkin and Sugar (Sparring)
Jen: at 11:31 AM Day 150, the castele, shortly after unconscious Hansel got locked into the dungeon. Fucking Goro. One of these days, Larkin would punch him in the face - if he didn't get killed by one of his lover first. She slammed the dungeon door behind her and started up the stairs, teeth clenched. Goro had seemed so changed after he'd returned from Calimport and Larkin had thought, he might have snapped out of that madness. Instead, he seemed to have jumped headfirst into another kind. Hansel was dangerous and he was going to hurt Goro. He'd proven that today. He might not do it on his free will, Larkin was convinced of that now, but in a way knowing that Hansel had that unpredictable potential made it so much worse. And Goro was just going to let him out, give him a fucking hug and a cup of tea or whatever, waiting to get his neck snapped. Acted like Larkin was the villain instead for having the common sense to be fucking worried about him. Well, fuck Goro. He could apologize to her once she'd resurrected his sorry ass. Larkin slammed another door, the one leading into the entry hall, then stopped. Her jaw was tight and her fists clenched. She forced herself to relax both and take one or two deep breaths. Plan for now: find some food, some booze, then lock herself into the tower room until she didn't feel like punching adopted brothers anymore. Coyote: at 11:36 AM Sugar kept busy. She helped Mishka drag a mattress down into the dungeon; she went upstairs and made dinner; she helped Mishka check the castle grounds a couple times, then a third time, then helped Ripley do it, too. Finally, she ran out of things to do. She paused, breathless, and sat down in the dining room. She couldn't be upset right now. Everyone else was, and that meant Sugar needed to be the stable one again. She spotted Larkin standing in the entryway. Jaw clenched tight, fists curled. And that same hot, angry feeling Sugar had felt last time, during their fight, came over her. Larkin looked like she wanted to hit something. And... Sugar kind've did, too. Sugar got up. "Hey, um, Larkin. Do you-- do you, um, want to fight?" She mimed stabbing. Jen: at 11:38 AM "What?" Larkin hadn't even noticed Sugar there, so riled up was she. God dammit. "Do I fucking look like it?" Coyote: at 11:42 AM Sugar stared at her. "Um." She took a step back and looked Larkin up and down. "Yes," Sugar said. Jen: at 11:51 AM Larkin rolled her eyes and made a frustrated sound. "You gotta learn to take sacasm, hun. Gimme a knife now and I might actually slit your pretty throat, so you better fuck off." Coyote: at 11:55 AM Sugar frowned at Larkin. And then she walked directly off. Jen: at 11:57 AM Well, that was easier than expected. Maybe she shouldn't have snapped at Sugar like that but fuck, Mask knew she was in a mood. Larkin let Sugar wander off, then made her way to the kitchen. Hopefully some food in her stomach other than popcorn would settle her nerves. Coyote: at 12:00 PM Sugar went downstairs, through the dungeon, directly to her captain's quarters on the ship. Sugar had dressed nicely that day: thigh-high boots and a split-side dress with an open back. It sounded like Larkin was going to stab her, though, which might get blood on her clothes? Hm. Sugar liked her clothes. She frowned critically at her wardrobe. She actually didn't have any good clothes for getting bloody and torn. They were all too pretty. This was a problem. She selected a pair of black pants, then a simple gray undershirt. She tied back her hair. She grabbed her belt and buckled on her two daggers. She went upstairs and found Larkin the kitchen, struggling with a jar. "Hey Larkin," Sugar said. Jen: at 12:01 PM "What?" Larkin snapped and slammed the jar on the counter. Damn thing didn't give in even then. Coyote: at 12:03 PM "You do seem like you want to fight," Sugar said. "I think you're just snapping at me because you're mad. Like, you look super tense. Your hands are tense? Also. That jar. You're going to break that jar, Larkin." Jen: at 12:08 PM "Well I fucking hope I do, so I can eat these bloody fucking pickles in there." Larkin flipped out a knife and started levering at the cap. It popped as air got in. She twisted it open and speared a pickle onto her knife, then turned around to look at Sugar again. She had dressed for sparring, hair done up and the dress gone. Larkin too a bite and gestured at the daggers at Sugar's hips. "Didn't you say you don't know how to use those? What you fucking want with 'em?" Coyote: at 12:12 PM Sugar stared at Larkin. "I... want to learn how to use them." Jen: at 12:27 PM Larkin scoffed and put the rest of the pickle into her mouth. "Good fucking plan. Get rid of some fingers first try, that'll really help you learn." She wanted to tell her to fuck off again. Sugar was right in the way that oh yes, Larkin did want to fight someone, even after getting knocked out by Hansel. But she was in not mood for playing nice with Sugar right now. Fuck, look at her. Thinking she was so fucking great she could practice with sharp knives. Made Larkin really want to whack her with something. Actually... well, maybe she could do that. Give Sugar a stick and set her to sparring with her. Would be fucking hilarious. And Sugar would likely not even notice Larkin wasn't doing it out of the kindness of her heart. Larkin smirked. "If you really wanna learn, go find some us sticks. Straight and about as long as a dagger. I'll be in the backyard." Then she grabbed the jar and turned to leave for the garden. Coyote: at 12:39 PM Oh wow that was good. That was-- Wait. Wait. Goro said that thing about not automatically believing people all the time. Maybe Larkin was lying and just trying to get rid of her. Well, either way. Sugar went to grab some sticks. She cut them into the right shape, then went to find Larkin. Larkin was, in fact, where she said she'd be. Sugar's tail lashed, pleased. She unbuckled her dagger belt and tossed it aside. She held out two of the sticks to Larkin. Jen: at 12:53 PM Larkin took the sticks and looked them over. Seemed to be suitable. She tossed one aside and gestured at Sugar to do the same. "We're only using one for starters. You'll be having enough trouble only handling that much." She move a few steps backwards and assumed a fighting stance, prop dagger raised. "First, you gotta learn to move right. Can't cut a bitch if a bitch cuts you first, right? So keep your weight on the balls of your feet. Forward foot. And hold the dagger in your forward hand. Always stand at an angle so you present as little of your body as target as possible." Larkin exaggerated her movements as she spoke, indicating the bodyparts and how Sugar was supposed to stand, then wait for her to get into the pose. Coyote: at 12:59 PM Sugar moved along with Larkin, twisting her body. Mishka had told her some of these things before-- about not making herself a target-- and she'd been learning. The daggers felt familiar in her hands. He'd been teaching her that, too, and so had Selkie a bit, when they were... younger. Sugar gritted her teeth. She remembered Selkie trying to teach her how to hold the dagger, where to hit. Selkie relied on strength, though, on focus. Sugar wasn't sure she had that. All Sugar had was backwards thinking and finding weak spots and doing things her own way. Jen: at 1:07 PM "Hm. No." Larkin dropped the stance to walk over to Sugar, circling her. "Feet more apart. Stand more stable." She kicked at them, lightly, to nudge them into position. "And drop that shoulder." She poked Sugar with the stick, then in a couple more spots until Sugar was standing the way Larkin wanted to. "Alright. That doesn't look too terrible." She resumed her own stance, stick and off-hand raised. "Now next thing you gotta learn is move. You're small and you'll almost always be up to bigger, stronger opponents so your only chance is to be faster and more mobile." Larkin began circling, careful to show good footwork. "Let's play a game. I'm gonna attack you and you'll try to dodge. Stay on your feet, hold onto your dagger. Ready?" Coyote: at 1:09 PM "Ready." Jen: at 1:21 PM Larkin lashed out and planted a strike at Sugar's wrist, making her wince and drop the stick. "Your best target is anything you can reach without getting too close. Cut the weapon hand and you'll get an advantage out of it for sure." She kicked the prop dagger closer to Sugar and waited for her to pick it up. "Now don't be so stiff. Move. Dodge. Swat my dagger away. Hit me if you can." Coyote: at 1:33 PM Sugar snatched up the dagger, but held it loosely. Then she eyed the way Larkin was holding her dagger-- the tight but sure grip, and the way she held her fingers-- and imitated that. Her wrist ached from where Larkin struck it. She shook it out. She made sure Larkin was looking at her, ready, before she lashed out. There was no point in attacking unexpectedly; an enemy in combat would be expecting her. She aimed for Larkin's wrist the same way Larkin had aimed for hers. Jen: at 1:42 PM "Good," Larkin said and let Sugar grace her wrist with her dagger. It stung but she had moved well and earned the hit. She did not, however, continue to do so. Larkin took a quick step aside and forward, getting into Sugar's back, and dealt her a blow to the kidney. Another step back brought her out of range where she resumed her stance, now about ninety degrees from where she'd been. "Keep moving," Larkin said with emphasis. "And draw your hand back after attacking, don't just let it hang there. Get your other hand up, too, use that arm to block." Coyote: at 2:01 PM Sugar didn't stop. Larkin hadn't stopped. So instead, Sugar shifted back, noted the things Larkin had said, and then... well. Kept moving. She lashed out, quick as she could. She struck, but Larkin moved out of the way, shifting aside. Larkin's eyes were narrow. Careful. Watchful. And she was fucking fast. It was like trying to hit a rattlesnake before it bit you. Sugar kept moving this time; she drew her hand back after attacking. Larkin countered the same way she had last time, but harder, always fucking harder. Sugar gritted her teeth. Get your other hand up, too, and use that arm to block, Larkin had said. Sugar moved her left arm and held it up. There were scales on her arm there, thick. She used her forearm to block Larkin's attack; it hit hard, maybe hard enough to sting a little through the scales, but it was effective. Sugar fell back, circling. Breathing lightly. Jen: at 2:13 PM "Yeah! Go!" Larkin kept shouting it at her as Sugar and she exchanged blows. "Come on! Don't stop! Move! Move!" Incredibly, Sugar began getting the hang of it. Faster that Larkin would've thought. This one sparring wouldn't be enough to teach her and she'd need many more hours of practice until she could hope to fight with a knife and survive but at least, the girl didn't seem to be a total idiot with it. "You can use your off-hand to block," Larkin commented as she also fell back. "The arm, not the knife. Don't try to grip with it or you' might get your fingers sliced off. And move your whole body when you dodge. " She demonstrated the motion, twisting her upper body aside from and unseen blow, then lunged at Sugar to get her to repeat. Coyote: at 2:27 PM Sugar watched-- and then, before she was ready, Larkin lunged. Yeah, like fighting a rattlesnake. Definitely. It felt natural, though. The movements Larkin showed her made solid sense. All of this made a lot of sense. She twisted aside when Larkin lunged at her. She almost managed to dodge it-- almost-- but the blow still hit her. Larkin didn't stop. They kept trading blows, Sugar trying to watch and imitate the things Larkin had showed her. Sugar's lungs burned, and her body felt... hot, and light, and fast. It felt good. Even the aches and pains where Larkin had whapped her felt good. Satisfying. Then Larkin kicked at her feet, and Sugar went down with a shriek. She landed on her ass. Jen: at 2:54 PM Larkin snorted and laughed when she sent Sugar sprawling. Fucking hilarious as expected. "Next lesson," she said while wiping her now sweat-soaked hair our of her face, "don't think you know what's coming. 'cause you don't. And don't expect anyone to fight by the rules. Or fight in any specific way. Sometimes they just flail at you with the fucking knife and that can hurt you just as bad as an aimed blow." Fighting against people who had weapons' training, who knew routines and went by them, that was one thing. There always were certain rules. One could anticipate the reaction to an action and plan attacks by that. But fighting in the streets... there were no real knife fights there. Only people with blades in their hands trying to stick them into you no matter what. Attacks like those ended withing seconds and there was rarely any time to even get into a fighting stance. Larkin had learned that lesson the hard way, as had most of her peers. "Let's take a break, alright? Have some water." December 19, 2018 Coyote: at 1:44 PM Sugar sat up, red-faced instead of just pink. Her hair was wild around her. It'd come loose during the fight. Maybe that was why Larkin kept hers short. Sugar watched her for a moment (Larkin was smirking, looking pleased with herself for knocking Sugar over.) Nah. Sugar didn't want her hair like that. She'd rather die or get stabbed. She went to the well, dragged up a bucket. She rested her hand on the bucket and chilled it, made it sweet and cool. She cupped her hands and drank. Splashed it on her face, cooled herself down. When she was done, she dumped the water out, then refilled the bucket and cooled it again. If Larkin wanted some, maybe. Jen: at 2:24 PM Larkin watched Sugar gather herself and have a drink. She should go have some water as well. The sparring had been fun, a good distraction from her fury but also exhausting. The sweat cooled fast on her skin and even though Larkin hadn't let Sugar see before, the girl had scored some painful hits as well. Larkin rubbed her wrist where by tomorrow there would be a nice bruise. Nothing compared to the beating she'd received from Hansel, though. Someone had healed her after the fight but there were still sore, aching spots on her body. It had taken him only two hits to take her down. Lightning bolts, to be fair, and she didn't even know how the hell he'd been able to do that. Watching Hansel take apart an enemy while he was on her own side was frightening enough; having him against them with that insane power... Larkin clenched her jaw. They should keep him locked up. Or better yet, put him down. That would be the easiest, safest, overall most sensible thing to do. Tell that to Goro, though, always wanting to risk his life for people likely to kill him. Fuck. Goobye distraction, back to angry again. "Anyway. You gotta practice a lot if you wanna stand a chance in a real fight," Larkin said. She tossed her prop knife into the gras and ran a had through her sweaty hair. "Not with me though. Lesson's over." Coyote: at 3:39 PM Sugar watched Larkin a moment. Observing her body language. Larkin's expression had changed. It'd gone from 'pleased' to 'fuck off' again. It seemed like Larkin really only had two expression: a "fuck off" glare and a "fuck you" smirk. When Larkin and Goro were together, Larkin usually wore the smirk: a sly, pleased expression, like a stray cat who'd just killed a mouse. Sometimes Larkin came home with a fat purse at her hip and blood on her clothes. Then when she was angry, Larkin had the other expression. Cold and sharp. Her eyes narrow and her lip curled. Sugar wondered, briefly, if she ever had... other expressions. She wondered if Larkin ever looked... soft. Maybe when she was, like. Asleep or something? Probably not, though. "Okay," Sugar said. She watched Larkin a moment more. Maybe a beat too long. "Maybe some other time, then. It's nightfall soon," she said, scuffing the ground with her foot. "Y'know... it's a few hours to Skyport. You oughta take the spare room here. Next to Goro." Jen: at 3:50 PM Larkin tilted her head at Sugar staring, trying to figure out whatever was going on with her now. This girl was nothing but fucking odd. Then Sugar glanced away and Larkin looked up at the sky as she mentioned nightfall. Was right about that. And a room nex to Goro sounded good, Larkin needed to keep an eye on that motherfucker. "Yeah," she said. "I'm staying. Can't fucking leave while there's a chance of Goro dragging a rabid half-orc into his bed." Coyote: at 3:58 PM "Ahaha--" Sugar started to laugh, then cut herself off, clearing her throat. Her face was pink. "That's not funny," she said sternly. "That was rude. Hansel does not mean to hurt people." Gosh, it was funny, though. Fuckin' Goro. He wanted to cuddle with people so bad he probably would go crawl in bed with Hansel even though Hansel might wake up and kill him. Oh no. Oh no she'd made herself sad now. It was just so sweet, Sugar thought. Goro and Hansel hanging out all the time. "I think it's sweet," Sugar said. "Just. Um. Not the part. Where Hansel, like, knocked Goro out and stuff? That was less cool. Yeah. Yeah you should sleep in the room beside Goro, you really ought to." She caught herself chuckling again and made herself stop. Jen: at 4:07 PM "Uhm. Yeaah." Larkin drew out the word, turning away from Sugar but keeping an eye on her. This weird act again. "Fucking adorable it is. Goro alive is also pretty fucking adorable so, y'know, I don't care if Hansel meant to fuck us up or not." She squinted at Sugar, then have a curt shake of her head. "Anyway. Got a door to secure now. Bye." Coyote: at 4:30 PM Sugar flicked her fingers in a good-bye the same way Mishka did. She pulled up her shirt. Wiped her face. Pulled back her hair again. She grabbed the prop daggers and went to take them to the armory; maybe they'd be useful later. Jen: at 4:35 PM END Summary: day 151, Sparring. Sugar makes Larkin give her knife fighting lessons and Larkin agrees to let off some steam. Satisfying success on both missions. Category:Text Roleplay